Peter Schrager of Fox Sports has some good news and bad news in terms of predictions for the 2012 NFL season for the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, these things are meaningless in the long run, but at the very least, the perception for most NFL analysts is that the Chiefs aren't going to win the AFC West this year as long as their quarterback is Matt Cassel (especially with Peyton Manning in the division).
Schrager recently came out with several predictions for the Chiefs, including calling a third place finish for the team in the AFC West behind the Broncos and Chargers. However, he does believe that the team has a great foundation in place for the defensive line in first round choice Dontari Poe out of Memphis. While the defensive tackle had his detractors, Schrager is not one of them:
The 350-pound Poe was the apple of draftniks' eyes after an eye-dropping performance at the NFL Draft Scouting Combine last February. He then became the whipping boy of film junkies, as his Memphis tape showed him to take plays off and not make much of an impact when he was "on." Pioli and Crennel love what they got with the 11th pick in the draft and he'll be expected to make an impact right from the start. Poe still hasn't signed his contract, but has been a constant presence since being drafted in April. There's only positive things being said. I think he's going to be a stud. And I think he's going to be a stud in Year 1. This is a motivated young man.
Chiefs fans will not be happy with a great year from Poe if the team fails to make the leap to the playoffs. However, it's nice to see that at least someone believes that Poe has greatness ahead of him among the mainstream football media.